"Where do you think you're going?" he asked, appearing in front of her all of a sudden and blocking her way to her classroom.
Him. Zac Hester Lakes, Senior at Lakeside High for the past two years and resident troublemaker. Tall and gangly, his stature was closer to that of an awkward nerd but he was more rebel than reserved and his sharp mind was usually occupied in planning his next escapade. His attitude made up for any lack in his stature. He wore his arrogance like armor, making him one of the most feared students at Lakeside.
Sensing the approaching storm, she turned around quickly and started walking in the other direction. Unfortunately for her, the school bell rang just then and streams of students began filtering into the corridor. The only difference between students during the ten-minute break between classes and wild geese on a hunt was that they didn't physically harm their prey. They just stalked them from afar. Like Mary Angela eyeing the new football quarterback from the other side of the hallway. Or even, David Summers silently peering over the top of his advanced history book at his English Teacher. Worst of all, Jessica Simmons was striding towards Zac with a dark scowl on her face.
She did not want to get in the middle of those two. She smartly dodged anyone who came in her way and moved quickly towards the end of the hallway. Her destination just a few feet away, she was stopped short by a hand gripping her arm. Zac. Of course.
Ever since he had discovered her secret he had been trying to get her to talk.
"What?" She asked, turning around and shaking her arm sharply to get rid of his grip on her.
"Did you really think you could hide it from me?" He asked, his voice quiet, the accusation ringing loudly in her ears. For a person who was notorious for being insensitive, he sure had some startlingly sensitive moments.
She wondered how the students around them didn't simply combust into flames with the amount of heat he was giving off. More than one group of students took a detour around their two-person roadblock, eyeing them warily.
"Yes. Because it's really none of your business. You can let go of my arm. I'm not going to run." At least not anymore, she thought.
"Who would you run to anyway?" He shot back.
Pulling her along with him, he took her to an empty classroom and closed the door.
She plopped down on an empty chair. It didn't seem like he was going to let her go anytime soon. "What happened?" He asked, pulling out another chair and sitting down next to her.
"Nothing really." She replied, shrugging her shoulders. "I tripped the alarm. The sound woke me up and I was able to get back to my room before they could find me."
"That's not exactly nothing. This is the second time – that I know of – that this has happened. How many more times will it take for you to stop fooling around and go talk to a psychiatrist?"
"Give it a rest. I'm fine. It's nothing serious. It's just sleepwalking." She said, scowling. His behavior was so at odds with his reputation, she was getting a headache just trying to understand his motives. It's not like they were friends. When he had found her wandering on the school grounds two weeks back, she had had to tell him her problem. But that certainly did not mean that he had any right to meddle in her life. And that is exactly what he had been doing since then.
"If it was just 'sleepwalking' I wouldn't have needed to break into the medical clinic and use my almost non-existent medical training to help you out last time." He pointed out.
She stared down at her palms and kept quiet. He mistook her silence for embarrassment and continued with an exasperated sigh. "Don't worry. I told you I wasn't going to tell anyone and that's still true. When did these incidents begin? How often do they happen?"
She looked up then and her eyes were blazing with anger. "What right do you have to ask me all these questions? I was grateful to you when you helped me. But, I don't think that entitles you to any answers about my life."
The sound of lockers slamming and students chattering in the hallway sounded loud in the empty classroom. Zac put up his hands and got up from the chair. "Alright. Calm down. You don't have to tell me anything. But, if this happens again, just know that I'm not going to keep quiet like last time."
The door banged shut behind him as left the room.
